1993 Volvo 850 GLT review from North America

The front air dam is held to the car by cheap plastic knobs. One of them busted off and I figured that it wouldn't pose a huge problem. As luck would have it, I was driving along when the whole air dam fell right off the car. It was pulverized by the Pirelli's. Fortunately, I was only driving at 50 kmh on my own street. Volvo should fasten the whole unit with a stronger seal.

Other than that, no major problems over the past 9 years of ownership. GREAT!

We've been buying Volvo's for 25 years so we know our Swedish auto's.

The 1993 850 GLT that we have was the first one ever to hit the streets of Toronto. It is black and has those sweet-looking, factory six-spoke alloy wheels. It definitely got a lot of looks when we first put it through its paces. I love the look of the car. It may seem boxy to most, but to me it looks dominant and sturdy. With its low front air dam, aggressive "snout" looking front grill, side skirts, and spoiler, it looks like a real mean European Touring Racing car. And indeed, Volvo went and raced these cars the next year with a fair amount of success.

The car handles great. Even though the car only rests on 15-inch wheels, the Pirelli P3000's are absolutely astounding. The suspension setup is great for sporty driving and delivers comfort at the same time. As a result, body roll is kept to a minimum. With the help of its "Delta-Link" rear suspension set up, the car comes out of corners with ease. Indeed, it is very difficult to put the 850 into a slide. The steering of the GLT is very linear for a front-drive car. Under-steer is minimal. Definitely a point and go car. The steering wheel takes a bit of effort to handle, but you get used to it quickly.

Comfort-wise, the car is great. The black leather seats are some of the most comfortable/supportive seats I've ever sat in. They also look very sporty in black. The back seats are great too. Some more lateral support couldn't hurt though. The black on grey interior matches great with the black exterior paint. Ergonomically, the 850 is perfect. All the buttons and switches are big and placed perfectly. I especially love how Volvo places the sunroof button down on the dash by the ignition so that one doesn't have to tire out an arm out while reaching up to hit the switch like on most other cars. The radio system is great sounding and the 6-disk changer is a god-send.

The powerplant was Volvo's first mass produced in-line 5 cylinder. Skeptical at first, I was concerned about the power output and balance of the engine. However, I soon found that the car really hauls for a sport sedan (and we don't have the turbo). Acceleration off a stand-still is quick from 0 to 50 kmh. However, it seems as though the engine really needs to break a sweat to get from 60 to 100 kmh. But once you're in 4th gear and above 110, the passing power of the car is more than good enough. Putting the car into "Sport Mode" doesn't actually help the performance of the car that much. While in this mode, the engine revs a lot higher before shifting (sometimes up to the redline before shifting from 1st to 2nd). However, the exhaust sounds great at higher revs so Sport Mode is good for me. With 168 horsepower and 170 lbs/ft of torque the car isn't exactly a sprinter (0 to 100 in about 9 seconds), but the car seems very sporty and easy to drive. I should have gotten the Turbo (crap!).

The automatic transmission is definitely not the greatest in the world. It is quite indecisive about when to shift from 2nd gear to 3rd. However, if you flip on the "Sport Mode" and open the throttle up with steady but tire screeching effort the transmission starts to work wonders.

You're probably better off with the 5-speed manual.

All in all, the 850 GLT was a revolutionary car for Volvo and I love it.